Making Waves

Chapter 4

The morning after the armed robbery incident, Percy woke up feeling excitement deep within her bones. She stretched out her limbs, the joints in her upper body popping after a good night's sleep. Her nightmares from Tartarus had almost completely disappeared, only occurring if something during her day triggered painful memories. And since the mythological world was relatively at peace, her normal prophetic demigod dreams were also absent.

Percy got ready to leave her apartment, forgoing breakfast because she knew she would be fed soon. Locking her front door behind her, she walked down the hallway and entered the stairwell. The building had elevators, but she preferred not to use them for obvious reasons and since she only lived on the fourth floor, it was never an issue.

She exited the stairwell after descending only one flight, walked down to apartment 306 and knocked on the door. After a beat, a short old woman in a long floral robe appeared.

"Persephone," said Carol, pursing her lips, "Rent's late I see."

Percy winced. She could never get her landlord to call her by her preferred name.

"So...about that," she laughed nervously, "I went to the bank yesterday to withdraw some cash, but then these guys with guns came in to rob the place. They were stopped, but the police took my money as evidence, so I have to go down to the station to collect it."

Carol stared at her for a long time, trying to determine if she was weaving some kind of elaborate story. Percy tried to look as genuine as possible. Finally, the woman sighed.

"You have until the end of the week," she decided, and Percy opened her mouth to thank her profusely, but then she spoke again, "When you go to get it, ask them to make sure they haven't marked down the serial numbers or anything. I don't want them tracking it."

Carol slammed the door in her face, clearly done conversing, and Percy gaped after her. What in Hades? She would not be asking the police that.

Percy huffed and took the stairwell to the ground floor. She walked a few blocks down and entered Brenda's Café. As a bell announced her entrance, Brenda Miller, the woman who owned the small establishment, glanced up and nodded to acknowledge her presence. She had a rare small smile on her face.

"Hey Percy," she greeted, "You want anything while you're here?"

Percy shook her head, "Nah, I'm good, just passing through."

The other woman hummed and turned back to the espresso machine to make a latte for a customer.

After the war, the gods had created a portal between the Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-blood, so demigods could more easily visit their friends and train with each other. Everyone needed all the support they could get to recover. A year later, a son of Athena and a daughter of Hephaestus had the genius idea of installing the same portals in various locations across the United States. They wanted protectors to be able to bring young half-bloods to camp quicker and more safely. The Athena cabin determined how many portals placed in which locations would be the most efficient. Once the spots had been mapped out, the Hephaestus and Hecate cabins worked together to spread out and integrate the portals into existing architecture. They chose locations that were likely to last a long time and were safe and accessible to many people but also hidden away from prying eyes.

Brenda's Café was one of those locations. At first, the small business had been riddled with debt, and city realtors constantly tried to obtain the property, haggling the woman with secrets from her past. But then the café had miraculously become a success overnight. A little research showed that the Wayne Foundation had financed its growth, using it as an outpost for community outreach.